2 New Orleans police officers wounded in French Quarter ambush

NEW ORLEANS — Two New Orleans police officers were wounded in an ambush on Friday in the French Quarter, authorities said.

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According to the New Orleans Police Department, the two officers were patrolling in the French Quarter in a marked SUV, WDSU reported. Police said a man in a pedicab opened fire, striking one officer in the left cheek just below his eye, while another bullet grazed the second officer in the arm, the television station reported.

Update 1:52 p.m. EDT Oct. 31: Donnell Linwood Hassell, 44, faces two counts of attempted murder, police said Saturday. New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson identified the wounded officers as Trevor Abney and Brooke Duncan IV, NOLA.com reported.

Abney was shot in the face and was seriously wounded, while Duncan was injured by glass shards when a bullet shattered the window of their police SUV, the website reported. French Quarter visitor who wounded a pair of New Orleans police officers in a barrage of unprovoked gunfire faces two counts of attempted murder, officials said Saturday.

Original report: At a news conference, New Orleans police Superintendent Shaun Anderson said the first officer, who is a four-year veteran of the force, was in serious but stable condition after the bullet lodged in his skull. Ferguson said despite the severity of his injury, the officer was able to walk to an area hospital, NOLA.com reported.

The second officer, a 16-year veteran, was injured by shards of glass when a window of the cruiser was shattered by a bullet, the website reported.

“Two of our officers were ambushed,” Ferguson told reporters. “This is a dark day.”

Ferguson said officers were able to apprehend the alleged shooter without firing their weapons, and the man was not harmed, WWL-TV reported. Police took the man to an area hospital because they believe there was something “medically wrong” with him, Ferguson said.

“He is not -- again, he is not -- physically harmed at all,” Ferguson said. “Our officers did not discharge any weapons. They did not fire any of their firearms. So, I want to commend those officers who maintained their professionalism.”

While Ferguson did not identify the alleged gunman, a law enforcement official told NOLA.com that the man was 44-year-old Donnell Linwood Hassel.

Warning: This video, taken from a surveillance camera, contains disturbing images:

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